HAL to return to NY in 2010

[sail7seas]

Isn't October a little cool for beaches/swimming?

We have had horrible luck with weather in Bermuda so can't tell by us.

 

[ctsally]

Whoopee! HAL is coming back to NYC. I wouldn't care where they were sailing to as long as they are going round trip out of NYC. The bus they ran for the Caribbean cruises on my Noordam were great, but if they don't run, Amtrack will be sure to see me again.

Thank you HAL for coming back to NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D I'm sure there must be a lot of "happy campers" today!

[FIRELT5]

http://www.weather.bm/climatereport/climateReport.asp#jsAnchor

[toodycat]

I was considering going RCCL to Bermuda since they already sail out of NY/NJ, but now I'll wait for HAL.

[HEYJUDE1]

Thank you for the link to the article, interesting.

[RevNeal]

At this range, any of those dates would work for me. The timing closest to Columbus day would work well for me.

 

Let's wait and see what kind of itinerary and dates they're giving us ... and the length of the cruise. Perhaps we can arrange a group cruise through CC ... that, or we can go independent. We'll see.

[PRINSENDAM]

I'm so pleased. I will get to cruise to Bermuda aboard the newly reconfigured Veendam (in a lanai stateroom) and see Captain Card. :)

 

 

Hi Rev Neal!

 

Greetings from on board the beautiful m.s NOORDAM in Tunisia.

 

Have been busy since early july with crossings in QUEEN MARY 2 and a Baltic on the 'other Vista'.... QUEEN VICTORIA. She is a beauty! Nor on NOORDAM but sadly will be disembarking in Civitavecchia on Thursday anfter 20 glorious days in the Med with 100% perfect weather and all excellent ports.

 

NOORDAM is still 'top shelf'! Same cabin we had on the maiden voyage.;)

 

VEENDAM's return to Bermuda is first class news. I will most certainly try to make some cruises when I am on 'de Rock'. She will be the ONLY cruise ship docking in St George and Hamilton on a weekly basis. I sincerely hope that Bermuda rolls out the red carpet for the ship.

 

Anyhow... best wishes from the NOORDAM.

 

Steephen

[PRINSENDAM]

The Veendam can't go fast -- I doubt if you would be there longer than 2 or 2 1/2 days in Bermuda.

 

 

VEENDAM is plenty fast enough for the Bermuda run. Required speed is only around 19 knots.

 

She can easily make a 5 pm Saturday departure from New York.

Arrive Bermuda 9 am Monday

Depart Bermuda 2 pm Thursday

Arrive New York 7 am Saturday.

 

Most likely the first port will be St. George on Monday Morning and will shift to Hamilton at 7 am on Tuesday Morning, berthing in Hamilton around 9 am until Thursday afternoon.

 

St George is first because if the weather is bad on Thursday the ship cannot get out of St George. Hamilton not a problem. If weather is bad on Monday mornings the ship will simply proceed direct to Hamilton. No big deal if you miss the cll at St George. There is a fast ferry service from Hamilton.... great trip and worth doing anyway.

 

Oh..... best side of the ship for the cruise is the port side. You have a v1ew over Hamilton Harbour and the sun on port days... and on the run back to NY you get the sun on port side in the afternoon. This is why the de luze suite on the old WESTERDAM were only on port side... she was HOMERIC built for the Bermuda run.

 

Stephen

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonder what the Veendam is doing the months before she begins her Bermuda cruises in August 2010?

 

Alaska?? Europe?

[innlady1]

VEENDAM is plenty fast enough for the Bermuda run. Required speed is only around 19 knots.

 

She can easily make a 5 pm Saturday departure from New York.

Arrive Bermuda 9 am Monday

Depart Bermuda 2 pm Thursday

Arrive New York 7 am Saturday.

 

Most likely the first port will be St. George on Monday Morning and will shift to Hamilton at 7 am on Tuesday Morning, berthing in Hamilton around 9 am until Thursday afternoon.

 

St George is first because if the weather is bad on Thursday the ship cannot get out of St George. Hamilton not a problem. If weather is bad on Monday mornings the ship will simply proceed direct to Hamilton. No big deal if you miss the cll at St George. There is a fast ferry service from Hamilton.... great trip and worth doing anyway.

 

Oh..... best side of the ship for the cruise is the port side. You have a v1ew over Hamilton Harbour and the sun on port days... and on the run back to NY you get the sun on port side in the afternoon. This is why the de luze suite on the old WESTERDAM were only on port side... she was HOMERIC built for the Bermuda run.

 

Stephen

Thank you, Captain, for your post...and your expert opinion, too!

 

This news from HAL has made my day...

[sail7seas]

Good to hear from you, Stephen. Enjoy the beautiful Noordam.

Wish we were there. :) Though, we happily just enjoyed two wonderful weeks on Maasdam.

 

Safe travel home.

 

[May4]

I have never been to Bermuda, but I have intended to get there one day.

 

So, going there by ship is mighty appealing.

 

I hope you'll drop in on the HAL boards again sometime.

[RevNeal]

Hi Rev Neal!

 

Greetings from on board the beautiful m.s NOORDAM in Tunisia.

 

Have been busy since early july with crossings in QUEEN MARY 2 and a Baltic on the 'other Vista'.... QUEEN VICTORIA. She is a beauty! Nor on NOORDAM but sadly will be disembarking in Civitavecchia on Thursday anfter 20 glorious days in the Med with 100% perfect weather and all excellent ports.

 

NOORDAM is still 'top shelf'! Same cabin we had on the maiden voyage.;)

 

VEENDAM's return to Bermuda is first class news. I will most certainly try to make some cruises when I am on 'de Rock'. She will be the ONLY cruise ship docking in St George and Hamilton on a weekly basis. I sincerely hope that Bermuda rolls out the red carpet for the ship.

 

Anyhow... best wishes from the NOORDAM.

 

Steephen

 

Oh Captain my Captain! It is SO good to hear from you!

Yes, Bermuda news is fantastic! We're looking forward to do at least one of the trips in 2010!

 

Glad to hear about the Queen Victoria. We passed her one day on the 3-day Prelude cruise ... she looked lovely. I definitely want to cruise aboard her and the future Queen Elizabeth.

 

I'm also glad to hear that the Noordam is still "top shelf." We've got a large group planning to be aboard in late January 2009.

 

The Eurodam Inaugural was a lot of fun, being with CCers on a new ship. As expected, there were "issues," but you can read about them in my thread on the cruise and ... when you get home ... you can check out photos. :)

 

I LOVE your paintings in the forward stairs aboard the Eurodam. VERY well done! However ... they have one of your paintings misidentified in the name-plate. :) If you want more details on that I would be happy to point you to it directly.

[mamaofami]

Just home from the Eurodam and haven't had time to read through this thread or post my review. The hotel manager, Stan Kuppens, told me at the Meet and Greet on Saturday that the Veendam would be coming to NYC in August of 2010 for the Bermuda run and then again throughout the summer of 2011. He told us at around 11:30 and said it would be announced to the TA's on board at 1pm. I, for one, am thrilled.:D

[innlady1]

Sucks. :(

 

I wouldn't take a small commuter plane either ... not if they couldn't guarantee my luggage gets onboard. Also, with those small commuter planes, I'd be too tempted to open the door and jump out. :( No, not for me.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

Rita,

If I recall correctly, you're in PA...when the Noordam left from NYC, they always had a homeport bus from PA, NJ, upstate NY, and New England. That might work for you!

[richsea]

VEENDAM is plenty fast enough for the Bermuda run. Required speed is only around 19 knots.

 

She can easily make a 5 pm Saturday departure from New York.

Arrive Bermuda 9 am Monday

Depart Bermuda 2 pm Thursday

Arrive New York 7 am Saturday.

 

Most likely the first port will be St. George on Monday Morning and will shift to Hamilton at 7 am on Tuesday Morning, berthing in Hamilton around 9 am until Thursday afternoon.

 

St George is first because if the weather is bad on Thursday the ship cannot get out of St George. Hamilton not a problem. If weather is bad on Monday mornings the ship will simply proceed direct to Hamilton. No big deal if you miss the cll at St George. There is a fast ferry service from Hamilton.... great trip and worth doing anyway.

 

Oh..... best side of the ship for the cruise is the port side. You have a v1ew over Hamilton Harbour and the sun on port days... and on the run back to NY you get the sun on port side in the afternoon. This is why the de luze suite on the old WESTERDAM were only on port side... she was HOMERIC built for the Bermuda run.

 

Stephen

 

We've sailed Zenith, cruising speed 21.4K, 5X to Bermuda from NYC Her schedule was a Saturday 4:30 PM departure with arrival in Hamilton @ 9 AM. Monday She left Hamilton 6AM Wed for a 9AM arrival in St. George & sailed for NY @ 3PM on Thursday & was back a the pier in NY @ 8AM Saturday. This itinerary was successful for many years, so it will be interesting to see Veendam's itinerary. Either way, it doesn't matter to me!

 

We always booked a port side cabin & faced the harbor in Hamilton & the dock in St. George. I ususally prefer to see the harbor from my stateroom, but must say that the view of the City of Hamilton on the starboard side is beautiful.

 

I have never sailed Holland America before, but will absolutely be booking Veendam to Bermuda. I think that Celebrity made a huge mistake in abandoning Bermuda & am glad that another upscale line has stepped up & filled the void.

 

This is great news!!!:D :D

[silvercruiser]

This very exciting and their itinerary sounds wonderful. Thanks.

[goldblades]

My husband and I just got off the 3 day NY trip on the lovely Eurodam. He fell in love with HAL and wants to cruise again on the line. Since he doesn't fly, cruising from NYC or Boston is ideal for us( within 2-3 hr drive from both). Could someone give us an idea on what the Veendam is like? Is it an older ship?

[RuthC]

Could someone give us an idea on what the Veendam is like? Is it an older ship?

You might want to read the sticky at the top of the page which describes the various classes of HAL ships.

The Veendam is an S-class ship, and as such is one of the smaller vessels. She's only an "older ship" in comparison to other ships on the seas today; she's not at all old in terms of sailing life od ships.

She has all the modern amenities, and all the facilities of the other HAL ships (with the exception of the new E-dam's additional dining venues and cabanas). They are just on a smaller scale, due to the smaller passenger base.

I love the S-class ships the best of everything HAL has to offer. The Veendam has the same food, style of decor, and friendly stewards you found on the E-dam.

[satchiesmom]

Wow! I'm so excited! We planned for a long time to sail to Bermuda on the Zenith, but after our first HAL cruise we were hooked for life. But HAL didn't sail to Bermuda, so we didn't go to Bermuda. What wonderful news. We live in Ohio, but won't mind driving to NYC since we usually drive to FLL for our Caribbean cruises and this will seem like a short drive in comparison. A CC cruise sounds wonderful, it would be great to finally meet some of the people whose posts I have been reading for years. Count us in!!

 

Susan

[mamaofami]

I am more than thrilled about the Veendam going to Bermuda. Wouldn't it be great if we could agree on a date and have a great big CC cruise. We were in Bermuda for a delayed honeymoon in June and the weather was wonderful. Then we went again in June several years ago. It's in my siggy somewhere. I for one, don't care where the ships go, just put me on the ship and let it sail. But out of NYC, now that's great!

[Jade13]

We heard that several months ago and are very excited about it.

HAL going to Bermuda on a regular schedule is excellent news IMO

 

I wish it were Noordam.

 

To have Maasdam from Boston and Noordam from New York to Bermuda...... we'd be in cruise heaven!

 

 

 

Dh told me today that Veendam is his favorite because it is smaller with less people. I thought about it and decided I agree. Have you not been on her? She is Massdam's sister I believe. So, we hope to try Maasdam soon.

 

If only these ships would change to the beautiful green spa decor. The decorating team did a great job on Eurodam.

 

Veendam will be sailing from NY.

[kryos]

Happy HAL will do that itinerary....... would be even happier if it was Boston to Bermuda to Boston. :)

 

Maybe at the beginning/end of the Bermuda season? Maybe you can grab the last Bermuda sailing followed by a Canada/New England one that would end in Boston?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

Sounds appealing except we wouldn't sail Canada/New England so late in the season.

 

We prefer June/July/August. Next year, Maasdam is doing The Viking Cruise much later than this year. She won't return until August 29.

 

[welove2cruise232]

Very excited to hear this great news! Now all they have to do is bring the Noordam back to NYC for the winter!;)